Dinner with the Smith Family
by P.J. Lowry
Summary: Bruce Wayne takes a moment to check up on someone from his past, only to find himself sharing a 'normal' dinner with the family.


The afternoon was cloudlessly clear and the neighbourhood was going about their normal business as they would any other day. The burbs just outside Gotham City were the same that you'd see in any other city, rows of nice houses with fresh cut lawns, white picket fences and a good nuclear family in each one. Bruce certainly felt out of place as he drove around while looking at the directions he had in hand, looking for the right house that was his final destination for this particular trip. He was used to people taking notice of the presence of his car, but that was at night when he was in the massive Batmobile. During the day his cars usually didn't have people stopping in their tracks. Yet in what was clearly a more 'blue collar' neighbourhood, his red Lamborghini stuck out a little more than is usually did, especially since he was slowing driving around while looking at the numbers on each house. Finally he came up to the house he was looking for. Bruce took a deep breathe and pulled into the driveway, slowly pulling up to the car already in and stopping two feet short of it's bumper. As he slowly stepped out of the car, he quickly scanned the surroundings to get an idea of the establishment he was entering. The house had a small picket fence in front of it and the lawn and the gardens were kept up with great pride. The house showed little if any wear, had a fresh coat of paint and there was a giant mat in front of the main door that had the word 'welcome' printed on it. Bruce hoped the mat spoke the truth as he casually strolled over to the front door, took a deep breath to compose himself and then rang the doorbell. He wasn't wearing a suit and instead chose to go with kakis and a dress shirt, but the shirt was not tucked in and the sleeves were rolled up. The last thing Bruce wanted to do was intimidate the hell out of these people. He then looked back out at the expensive Italian sports car sitting out in the driveway and took a small sigh of frustration: too late.

It took a few moments but eventually a woman arrived to slowly open the door to see who it was. When she realized it was just one casually dressed man, she opened it a little more. "Can I help you?"

Bruce smiled and tried to be as charming as he could, "Hi there, are you Jessica Smith?"

"Yes, I am. Who are you?"

He quickly extended his hand, "My name is Bruce. I was hoping I could speak to you and your husband for a few moments."

"What exactly do you want to talk to us about?"

"It's about your daughter. You see, I'm a friend of her biological mother."

"Why are you here? Are you here to cause trouble?" she quickly retorted.

"I'm not here to cause any problems." Bruce said as he raised his hands to signal just that, "I'm just here to speak to you and your husband. Once we've talked you'll likely never see me again."

She paused for a moment then proceeded to open the door. "All right, but you're only going to get five or ten minutes. Then you're outta here."

"I'll take it." Bruce said as some time was better than none. "Where's your husband?"

"He's in the kitchen, working on something. Follow me." Jessica Smith walked up the stairs and onto the main floor. They walked through the living room and into the kitchen to where her husband was sitting, "John, we have company!"

John was sitting at the table, reading and circling items in the newspaper. He put down what he was doing and looked up, "Good afternoon, do I know you?"

"Probably not." Bruce said as he extended his hand, "My name is Bruce. It's a pleasure to meet you both. May I?" he said as he motioned to one of the empty chairs at the table.

"Of course, would you like something to drink?" John asked trying to be hospitable.

"No thanks, I won't be here that long." Bruce answered.

John quickly noticed his wife was agreeing with that statement and suddenly seemed concerned about the look on her face, "What does this seem to be about?"

"He claims to be a friend of our daughter's biological mother."

"What kind of friend?" he asked.

Bruce realized what they might be thinking and decided to nip that in the bud. "I realize that she was associated with some pretty bad people, but I can assure you that I am one of the rare friends she had that was not connected with that kind of criminal lifestyle."

"So what brings you here then?"

"Mainly to check up on how things are going and to offer some help if any is needed. I can only imagine how difficult it has to be parenting a teenager who just started high school. I'm sure it hasn't been easy at times."

"It's all worth it in the end." Jessica said, "We love her very much."

"I know, and I would never dream of causing any problems." Bruce said and he meant ever word of it. "Right now this is the best place for her. The home you provide for her is the most supportive, grounded and safest place for her to be. You guys have both done an excellent job, so if the system it's not broken I have no intention of trying to fix it. I'm not going get in the way of that and if anyone tries to tear her away from you, I'll unleash my lawyers on them like a pack of rabid dogs."

Mrs. Smith seemed to take a huge sigh of relief as she finally seemed convinced that Bruce was a true friend and wasn't going to try to take her child away, "Thank you. It means so much coming from someone who knew her mother."

"Yet we so have some other issues that might need helping." John said as he motioned back to the section of the newspaper he was reading.

"Actually, that was the reason I came here today..." before Bruce could complete his sentence the front door slammed, catching everyone's attention.

"Mom! Dad!" a female voice shrieked from the main door, "There's a Lamborghini in the driveway! Did we win a lottery or something?"

Bruce quickly turned to John, "Before she gets into the room, I need you to tell me: how much does she know?"

"Everything, we told her she was adopted two years ago." John replied.

Bruce sighed, "Just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to accidentally let the cat out of the bag or anything."

"No you wouldn't, but thank you for asking us first." Jessica said just before her adoptive daughter raced into the kitchen.

Bruce watched as the young teen walked into the kitchen, and it was like watching a younger version of the woman he fell in love with walk into the room. She was such a stunning reflection of her mother it was downright shocking. She had wavy blonde hair that went about a few inches down her back, but was also wearing some punk like clothing designs that one might suggest came right out of Avril Lavigne's skater girl closet. When the young woman realized the guest was with them in the kitchen, she pointed at him. "Is that your wicked car out in the front yard?"

"Yes." Bruce admitted shyly, "I guess I should have picked something a little more subtle before coming over but it does help when you hit the highway."

"I'd say. That thing is sick!" she said with a wide smile.

"That means good these days." John quickly chipped in.

"Ahhhhhh." Bruce replied, suddenly feeling his age.

"Oh wait." The young girl suddenly said, "Who are you?"

"His name is Bruce." Jessica said, "He was a friend of your mother."

Her face suddenly changed as if she found like some long lost treasure, "Oh. My. Gaud. I have some many questions!" she squealed with excitement.

"I can only imagine." Bruce said with a little caution.

Jessica motioned to her guest and then back to her daughter, "Bruce, I'd like to formally introduce you to my daughter Helena."

Bruce reached out his arm, and Helena quickly shook it. She then quickly turned adoptive mother, "Do you think he can stay for dinner?"

The two parents look at each other and then back at her, "Of course he can, dear." Jessica said and then turned her guest. "Would you like to stay for dinner, Bruce?"

Bruce took a deep breath. He honestly didn't expect to stay this long but didn't want to seem rude. "I'd love to, if it's no trouble of course."

"No trouble at all." Jessica said as she grabbed an extra plate and set of utensils and took them out to the dining room to set up an extra place.

After a few minutes of chit chat, they all took the table to eat. Mrs. Smith had served a very delectable spread of roasted pork chops, creamy mashed potatoes and some steamed carrots and green beans on the side. Bruce wasn't used to sitting down to a 'normal' family meal, but enjoyed himself a great deal especially since the food was very good. It was about halfway through the meal when Helena tossed her first barrage of questions at him from the other side of the table.

"So how long did you know my mother?"

"For a very long time, on and off mostly."

"What did she do for a living?"

"She was a secretary. Really nothing too exciting but she could quickly type a memo like no one else could, mistake free."

"How did you meet her?"

"Her boss was someone I did a lot of business with."

"Did she have a wild streak to her?"

"Everyone does, Helena. What we do with it defines who we are."

"Whatever. How about friends, did she have a lot of them?"

"Not really, she really kept to herself. Her boss also kept her very busy."

"What color was her hair?"

"Same as yours... you got that blonde wavy hair from her."

"Awesome. Did she have any pets?"

Bruce almost choked on a piece of pork when she tossed that question over. It took a few moments, but quickly composed himself enough to answer it. "Cats. She was a very big cat person."

"That's really weird." Jessica suddenly chipped in.

"Why is that?" Bruce asked.

"Helena's allergic to cats." John answered for her.

Bruce had to cover his mouth as tried his best to stop from laughing out loud at the irony of the last statement he had just heard. He faked a few coughs to stifle the giggles he was trying to prevent from spilling out. After a few moments, he finally took the napkin away from his face. "That's terrible." he replied as he worked very hard to keep a straight face, "They're such calming and gentle creatures."

"Whatever." Helena said as she pushed aside her plate, green beans untouched, "Did you and my Mom ever date?"

"Helena," Jessica quickly snapped at her, "That's not an appropriate question to ask at the table!"

"It's okay." Bruce said as he took a sip of water, "We did see each other a few times, but in the end we realized we were better off as friends."

"Does this mean you know who my father is?"

For the first time since she started attacking him with questions, there was a long awkward silence at the table. Bruce took a moment to finish what he was chewing and used the time to calculate a truthful answer that wouldn't upset her parents, "We're acquainted."

Before Helena could ask any other questions, John stepped in with one of his own, "When you first got here Bruce, you were about to tell us the main reason why you had come to visit us. Can you tell us what that was?"

Bruce jumped all over the chance to change the subject. "I came because I know what happened at the plant last week, John."

"We're not into taking charity, Bruce." John quickly said to him. When Bruce walked into the kitchen, John had been searching the classifieds for a new job. The plant he had worked at for a long time had laid off several thousand workers due to the tough economy, including himself.

"I'm not offering charity." Bruce said, "I'm here to offer you a job. We have close to a dozen openings for a man of your skills and I've reserved a spot for you if you want it. It's in the city, so you'd have to commute but it pays more and is worth the trip."

John put down his fork and looked back at Bruce, "I don't know what to say?"

"Say yes. This company has pledged not making any layoffs and you'll be guaranteed a secure and safe employment that will ride out this current recession and beyond." Bruce dug into his pocket and offered him a card, "Just call this number and ask for a man named Lucius. He's waiting to hear from you."

John took the card from him, and looked at what it said. The name of the company was clearly written in bold blue letters, and John stared at them for a moment. "Wait a minute, Wayne Enterprises?" A bell seemed to be going off in his head as he finally put two and two together, as he finally remembered there was a very expensive Italian sports car residing in his driveway, "You're Bruce Wayne!"

"Yes." Bruce confirmed, as his secret was finally revealed. He had done his best to keep a semi-low profile while in the house. He was actually surprised they didn't put two and two together earlier just because of the car in the driveway.

Jessica put a hand to her mouth when she realized who her guest was, "Oh my gaud, she told us about you and your involvement with her adoption."

"Who did?" Helena asked, curious to know what the hell was going on.

"Your mother, when you were born." John answered.

"Now who's letting the cat out of the bag?" Bruce asked, trying to concentrate on his own green beans as a means of escape.

Helena seemed to be getting a little frustrated, which was common for a girl of her age, "You guys promised when you first told me that you would never lie about this issue. That you would always tell me the truth, regardless of what it was. So please tell me what is going on?"

"You're right. We promised." John said as he shifted in his seat, "This is Bruce Wayne, owner and chairman of 'Wayne Enterprises'. That billionaire playboy that you always see flamboyantly running around on TV on those tabloid shows with movie stars on his arms. He's also your biological father."

Helena turned to Bruce and looked him right in the eyes, "Is this true?"

"Not exactly." Bruce replied, "Those women were fashion models."

Helena didn't seem impressed with his answer, "That's not what I meant!"

"I know, I know." Bruce replied as he realized his attempt at humour had fallen flat on its face. "Yes, I am your biological father."

"And when were you going to tell me this? When I saw you on television the next time?" Helena's temper seemed to be something else she inherited from her mother, "Or was your intent to just check up on us and take off without telling us anything?"

"Actually, the plan was to tell your parents first and make whether or not we told you their decision." Bruce admitted, which really was his plan.

"And of course the child is the last person to hear about everything. I hate all of you and your secrets!" Helena dropped her napkin and left the table. Seconds later the three adults still sitting there could hear the slamming of a door as it was Helena's vocal declaration that she was confining herself to her room until further notice.

"Wow." Bruce said as he looked around. "That was quite sudden."

"Welcome to my world, my friend." John said as he sat back, "Teenage girls can go from zero to ten in about two seconds. Everything is the end of the world, but I have to admit we dropped a big one on the table tonight."

"We sure did." Bruce said as he stopped eating, clearly full. "Get used to that passion too. Selina Kyle was known for her gusto and I saw a lot of it in her just then."

"You see a lot of Selina in her, don't you?" Jessica asked as she started to clear the table.

"I do." Bruce admitted, "But I meant what I said before she came home. This is the best place for her, and I'm not here to interfere or take her away. I came here to help you John. The job offer is legit and Lucius is waiting to hear from you."

"Thank you." John said as he took the card off the table, "I really appreciate the help. I didn't know what I was going to be able to do in these uncertain times."

"I wish this could have gone better. Maybe I should go." Bruce said as he stood up.

"We really appreciate you coming out." Jessica said as she came back from the kitchen and started to walk him to the door, "It took a lot for you to come over today to help us."

"I just hope I didn't cause any problems for you." Bruce said he made it to the door.

"Don't worry about her." John said as strolled over to the door, "We've handled worse disasters than this. She'll get over it, but when she does she might try to contact you."

"As long as it doesn't cause any problems here, she can." Bruce said as he stepped outside, "I don't want to break your family apart, and I won't allow it to happen."

"We know. Thanks." Jessica said as she shook his hand.

"And thank you for dinner, it was delicious." Bruce said as he walked outside the house, "Are you going to give Lucius a call, John?"

"Yes, I will." John replied with a nod.

"Good man. I'll see you later then." Bruce waved and watched as the door closed before slowly walking back to his car. When he got back to the car he paused for a moment to collect himself. It has been a very awkward dinner, but one that he needed to done for a long time. He wasn't' the kind of man to dodge his responsibilities, but he never found out about Helena until much later and Selena had already given her up for adoption buy then. The Smiths were good people, and she was much safer here than she ever would be near the center of Gotham City and in the crossfire of the many acquaintances of both Batman and Catwoman. This was the right place for her, this there was no doubt about that. It was the best decision Selena had ever made for her daughter, and he was never going to question nor challenge it.

He opened the door and was about to slip into the car when he noticed that one of the drapes on the second floor was open and he was being watched from one of the windows. Helena had been watching him from her room as he stood there reflecting at his car. Bruce looked up and gave her a friendly wave and watched as she paused for a moment and then closed the drape, disappearing back into her room. He stepped into the car, softly turned it back on and pulled out. Bruce left that day not with a sense of dread, but with one of hope. Knowing that Selina's child was in a good, safe environment left him pleased and able to move on and do his own thing. The Bat nor the Cat would interfere in her life, and she would be raised normal and without the crazy lifestyle both he and her mother lived through. For now that was going to have to do. Maybe later they'll have a more pleasant exchange, but dinner wasn't that bad. At least he wasn't going to have to grab something to eat before work, Bruce thought to himself he started to drive towards the highway and back to the bat cave.


End file.
